


looking respectfully

by spacedouche



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Etiquette, F/F, or lack thereof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24368959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedouche/pseuds/spacedouche
Summary: Rapunzel stares because she's feral and has no manners.
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 139





	looking respectfully

Like any good warrior with their weight, Cassandra senses eyes on her even with her tunic pulled over her head, halfway off her body. She feels the hairs of her neck raise as her entire body tenses. The castle may be safe from hoodlums, but she’s not about to let any voyeur get off scot-free.

Cassandra had just returned from a morning of frolicking around town, attempting to reign in a certain royal for her daily duties. After sending her charge off to her suite, she had returned to her own room in order to swap back into to her dress (for presentability’s sake) when the footsteps in the hallway had ground to a halt, and the silence of baited breath was louder than any noise the visitor could have made otherwise. 

She tears the garment off her head and grabs her dagger in one swift movement, aiming to throw it at the crack at her door before gauging just who this pervert is. Instead of a shameful leer, she’s met with unwavering curiosity on a heart-shaped face.

The Princess.

Cassandra feels a heat crawling up her neck, and she knows soon enough the blush will be visible on her face. She’s not about to throw her shirt back on, but there’s also no time for her to thread all her dress laces, not while the princess still has yet to stop staring, or even say anything at all. She lowers the dagger. 

“Your Highness.” She states warily. The Princess’s eyes flick from very obviously scanning her body to meet her eyes. “May I ask what you think you’re doing?”

The princess somehow takes that as an invitation to barge right in, not even bothering to close the door behind her. She grasps Cassandra’s unarmed hand. “Oh Cassandra! Please, I’ve told you to call me Rapunzel!”

Cassandra is completely flummoxed by this move, what now with Rapunzel’s sudden proximity, sudden contact, while she’s still very much naked from the waist up. She glances nervously between Rapunzel’s earnest look and the wide open door to her room. She reassures herself that only Old Lady Crowley should be wandering these halls right now. Well, Crowley and one unruly princess, it seems.

She takes a deep breath to keep from yelling. “ _Rapunzel._ Are you aware that my body is quite exposed at the moment.” It comes out through clenched teeth, demanding an explanation.

Rapunzel tilts head and scrunches her eyebrows. “Yes? I think it’s pretty obvious Cassandra, I mean we can both see.” She giggles. _Giggles._ “By the way, your freckles look really pretty on your collarbone-” She reaches out a hand to touch them when Cassandra jerks back, yanking her hand away from Rapunzel and falling against the wall of her wardrobe. Rapunzel recoils at the sudden movement. Cassandra drops the dagger into her pile of knives in exchange for a small towel.

It’s only now that Rapunzel sense something might be wrong. “Cassandra?” She ventures meekly.

Cassandra is now completely red, from embarrassment or anger she couldn’t say herself. It’s getting very hard to keep from screaming. 

“STOP staring at me.” She seethes, bringing the towel to her front.

Rapunzel’s face drops in fear and briskly turns around. Cassandra takes a few moments to take deep breaths, in and out. They stay like this for a moment, Cassandra glaring into Rapunzel’s back and Rapunzel fixing her eyes to the floorboards beneath her toes. When she hears Cassandra’s breathing even out again she mumbles a small “sorry, Cassandra.”

Cassandra lets the apology hang in the air, drift around her head, and she appraises the anxious shifting of Rapunzel’s feet. She sighs deeply.

“It’s fine. Please close the door.” 

Rapunzel scampers forward and swings the heavy oak door shut. Glad to be forgiven, though she can’t exactly understand of what, she whirls around to face Cassandra again. She scans Cassandra up and down, and upon arriving at her face she’s met with daggers once more, but of the eye variety.

“Rapunzel, what did I just say?”

“Please close the door?”

Cassandra’s eye twitches. “Before that. I told you to stop staring at me.” 

Rapunzel’s shoulder slump. “Oh. Is that why you’re angry with me?”

Cassandra’s grip on the towel tightens so hard her knuckles turn white, a startling contrast to her reddened face. “Is that why I’m–of course it’s why I’m angry! Rapunzel, you are not supposed to just _stare_ at people for no reason.”

“Why not?” Rapunzel responded a bit petulantly, before backtracking. “I mean, I’m sorry, I won’t anymore. But why not?”

Cassandra is bewildered at the question. _Why not,_ is Rapunzel picking a fight? But she takes in the princess’s worried expression and wringing hands and it dawns on her.

Rapunzel is genuinely asking her why it’s rude to stare.

She wipes a hand down her face and ties the towel off around her torso before guiding the princess so they’re both sitting side by side on her bed. 

“Rapunzel,” she starts, “there are a lot of rules about how to act with and around other people. One of those rules that you have to practice, is not staring at someone unless you have a good reason to.”

Rapunzel bites her cheek. “A good reason?”

“Like if they were talking to you, or doing a performance, or if you’re spying on them…” Cassandra gestures vaguely. “Alright maybe cut out the spying. The point is you shouldn’t do it, and if you do, try to hide it.” 

“Why should I hide it?” 

Cassandra shrugs, a little unsure herself. “It’s just improper to be caught staring.”

“Improper like…not wearing shoes?” Rapunzel asks, wiggling her toes. Even though she and Cassandra are sitting at the same place, her feet barely brush the ground below, while Cassandra’s are firmly planted.

That finally brings a chuckle out of Cassandra. “Yes, like not wearing shoes.”

Rapunzel smiles back, glad to have finally cleared the air with Cassandra’s musical laughter warming her up. 

“I think I had a pretty good reason for staring at you, though.” She cheekily taps a finger on her chin.

“Oh?” Cassandra smirks, curious. “What reason would that be?”

Rapunzel looks her right in the eye. “When something is beautiful, you have to stare, right?”


End file.
